Alaskans who enjoy venturing out into the woods to find their own Christmas tree can do so on state land managed by the Division of Forestry.
No permit or fee is required to cut a tree. Trees must be no more than 15 feet tall and only one tree per household is allowed. Trees should also be cut as low to the ground as possible. Christmas trees cut on state land are for personal use only and may not be sold. The State of Alaska does not maintain any roads for this purpose.
Maps and information for Southcentral and Interior Alaska:
Other rules for Christmas tree cutters on Alaska state land:
Cut whole trees, do not top
Cut stumps as low as possible
Protect seedlings for future Christmas trees
Respect private property Cutting Christmas trees on unrestricted State of Alaska lands is allowed with some stipulations. Tree removal is prohibited in Alaska State Parks and Department of Transportation & Public Facilities rights-of-way. Harvesting may also be limited within local borough or municipality borders, Alaska Native lands and other private property. It is important to properly identify land ownership where you intend to cut your tree.
Got questions? Call the Division of Forestry & Fire Protection office in your area, or contact the DNR Public Information Centers in Anchorage (907-269-8400) and Fairbanks (907-451-2705).
Don’t feel like shopping on Black Friday? Join the crowd, or rather, don’t join the crowd. Parking fees at all Alaska State Parks facilities on Friday, Nov. 29 will be waived to give Alaskans another reason to get outside during the Thanksgiving weekend
“Each year, Alaska State Parks offers free parking on this day in hopes that it encourages more Alaskans to experience our state’s great outdoors with their families and friends,” said Ricky Gease, director of the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation. “On a day when many people tend to shop and spend money, getting outside costs us nothing yet pays dividends for our future in health benefits. This time of year also coincides with our launch of the annual Alaska State Parks parking pass.”
Yearly parking decals make recreating in the 157 Alaska State Parks facilities easier and more cost-effective all year long. Day-use parking passes are $60 per vehicle, while boat launch annual decals are $150.
Alaska State Parks 2025 Day-Use parking decal stickers are available online, and for in-person sales at locations throughout Alaska:
DNR Public Information Center – Anchorage
REI – Anchorage
The Hoarding Marmot – Anchorage
Alaska Mountaineering & Hiking – Anchorage
Alaska Public Lands Information Center – Fairbanks
REI – Fairbanks
Beaver Sports – Fairbanks
Homer Chamber of Commerce (after mid-December)
Seward Chamber of Commerce (after mid-December)
Additional locations will be posted online as the passes arrive The 2025 pass will be honored for the rest of 2024 as well. For information and online decal sales, visit https://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/asp/fees.htm. For 2023-2027 disabled veteran camping passes, contact the Anchorage Public Information Center at 907-269-8700.
Must Read Alaska is taking a break today to spend precious time with loved ones. You’ll find us with family, and not writing many stories — if any — as we’re hoping for a light workload, no website crashes, and no political shenanigans. We hope you are with loved ones, too and that the snowflakes are on the outsides of your dining room windows, not at the table.
On this day, we’re especially grateful for the many who are not able to take a break, because they are on duty: Our men and women who are serving in the Armed Forces, those standing guard for us on police and trooper shifts, and those who are staying ready in our fire departments who will save someone from disaster. We’ll remember your service and sacrifice when we approve comments at MRAK, watch the games, and baste the hen.
We’re thankful for the nurses and doctors who have been taking care of our family members through their worst days, and we realize that they, too, have families who wish they could be home today. From air traffic controllers to hotel staff, there are so many who work on this day, and we appreciate you all for what is a personal sacrifice.
Thank you to everyone who reads and supports Must Read Alaska, and especially those who have chipped in financially to help this conservative news project stay standing. I appreciate you so much.
Thanks to the quiet crew at MRAK who keep the website from crashing and who help by sending content, columns, and corrections. And especially the columnists here at MRAK who bring a diverse perspective and exchange of ideas — and keep things interesting and lively every day.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, no matter our circumstance or fortune.
This is still a great country, and as our journey in self-government perseveres through these tough times, we have a mighty God who watches over us all and grants us free will. We are so thankful.
As of Wednesday, schools in Ohio are required to have single-sex bathrooms and locker rooms after Gov. Mike DeWine signed the state’s bathroom bill into law.
The bill, folded into a law that revamped the state’s College Credit Plus Program by Republicans, requires multi-occupancy restrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms and overnight accommodations used by multiple students to be designated only for either male or female students.
DeWine announced the signing without comment Wednesday, but House Republican sponsors said school leaders and parents across Ohio wanted the change in law.
“We are thankful that individuals will not have to worry about members of the opposite sex coming into restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms in Ohio,” said Rep. Adam Bird, R-New Richmond. “Thank you, Governor DeWine, for signing this important legislation and keeping students safe.”
The bill cleared the Senate earlier this month.
Originally House Bill 183, the bathroom ban bill became part of Senate Bill 104 on the House floor, which was passed before lawmakers recessed earlier this summer. SB104 originally made changes to the Ohio College Credit Plus program.
Sen. Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, said the bill is destined for litigation.
“There is a whole lot of other stuff we could be working on right now, but this is the one. Is this really what we need to be spending our time doing?” Antonio said on the Senate floor. “It’s not really about the bathrooms. It’s about demonizing people. We are telling our children there are people who are less than. They are not the same. They are not allowed to behave like the rest of us. That is a terrible bill.”
Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction, which normally deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts, such as advanced science and technology. Science fiction was the most popular in several periods of the 20th century:
The 1930s-1940s: the Golden Age of Science Fiction
This period is generally considered to have been from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s. It was a time when many fundamental works of science fiction literature were published.
The 1950s
The end of World War II and technological developments in space exploration and nuclear energy helped make science fiction popular. Japanese science fiction films, like Godzilla (1954), were also contributed to the popularity of science fiction in literature.
The 1960s–1970s
Science fiction became exceedingly popular in film and on television during this decade. Some notable films from this period included: Fahrenheit 451 (1966), A Space Odyssey (1968), and Charly (1968). The new “wave” style of science fiction was also popular during this time, emphasizing the social and psychological sciences over the physical sciences.
The most prominent, and my favorite, science fiction writers who represent last two periods of the 1950s and the 1960s-1970s are:
—Ivan Yefremov (1908-1972) was a Soviet paleontologist, archaeologist and science-fiction author. He founded taphonomy—the study of how organisms’ decay and become fossilized or preserved in the paleontological record. His most controversial and popular science fiction book is The Hour of the Bull (1968).
—Stanislaw Lem (1921-2006) was a Polish writer and widely translated into Russian language. He was the author of many novels, short stories, and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical and humorous character.
—Isaac Asimov (1920-1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke.
Nevertheless, it was Karel Čapek (1890-1938) of the Golden Age of Science Fiction period of the 1930s-1940s, who had pioneered and set a tone for this creative literary genre. Karel Čapek was a Czech writer and playwright; he was one of the most influential and prolific Czech writers of the 20th century. In addition to his first popular fiction R.U.R. (1920), he also wrote The Outlaw (1920), Pictures from the Insects’ Life (1921), The Makropulos Affair (1922), Adam the Creator (1927), War with the Newts (1936) and The White Disease (1937).
Čapek has become best known for his science fiction genre, including his most notable play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) written in 1920. In R.U.R. Čapek introduced the word “robot” to the English vocabulary; originallythe word itself derived from the Russian word “rabota,” or work (noun). He also wrote many politically charged works dealing with the social turmoil of his time, strongly opposing the rise of fascism and Nazism in Europe.
The R.U.R. is set in a factory that produces artificial workers — “robots”— from synthetic organic matter. The robots physically resemble humans but lack original thoughts, emotions, and consciousness. They are created by humans to perform physical labor and eliminate hardship for humanity. Eventually, robots organized themselves, rebelled against humans and managed to kill most of them on Earth. Subsequently, the robots were unable to reproduce, because humans possessed a secret formula for their skin production; so, robots end and ultimate existence became inevitable.
The play is a social commentary on the dangers of humans thinking too naively and ignoring the consequences of their unwise actions. It also explores the idea that robots are viewed as unliving things, rather than people.
The play was an enormous success in Europe and North America and, eventually, it was translated into over 30 major languages by 1923. It inspired many other creative works, including Isaac Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics”—a set of guidelines for how robots should ideally behave in human society.
In his play, Čapek attempted to convey to readers that human consciousness is the state of being aware of oneself and the world around them, including thoughts, memories, feelings, emotions, sensations, and environments. It is a subjective experience that is unique to each person and unique only to humans.
Historically, only humans among all other living creatures and species on the Planet Earth created complex social institutions, sophisticated technology, political parties, mythology, creative literature and art, major world religions, theological teachings, and the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments, to name a few.
Consciousness also has many biological and social purposes, such as: processing information, choosing actions, setting priorities, adapting to new information, and making rational decisions. Some examples of consciousness include: the tune of music stuck in people’s head, the sweetness of chocolate cake, the throbbing pain of a toothache, the strong emotions for the loved one, and judgement between good and evil, and right vs. wrong.
Today’s development and attempts to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) to our daily life and, subsequently, to replace human labor is somewhat a blueprint of the Čapek’s 1920s play R.U.R.
Artificial Intelligence is a field of computer science that focuses on creating machines that can perform tasks that normally require human intelligence and labor. Artificial Intelligence systems use algorithms, quantitative data, and computational power to emulate human intelligence. In short, AI is the technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem solving, and rational decision making.
In fact, the introduction of digital technology and cellular network and means of communication have already significantly changed many traditional aspects of our contemporary daily life, education system and cultural values. It remains a mystery of how the introduction of AI can and will change the fabric of human society—i.e., shared moral values, norms of behavior, laws, social institutions, cultural practices, distribution of wealth, and lifestyle of biological humans.
Alexander B. Dolitsky was born and raised in Kiev in the former Soviet Union. He received an M.A. in history from Kiev Pedagogical Institute, Ukraine, in 1976; an M.A. in anthropology and archaeology from Brown University in 1983; and was enroled in the Ph.D. program in Anthropology at Bryn Mawr College from 1983 to 1985, where he was also a lecturer in the Russian Center. In the U.S.S.R., he was a social studies teacher for three years, and an archaeologist for five years for the Ukranian Academy of Sciences. In 1978, he settled in the United States. Dolitsky visited Alaska for the first time in 1981, while conducting field research for graduate school at Brown. He lived first in Sitka in 1985 and then settled in Juneau in 1986. From 1985 to 1987, he was a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist and social scientist. He was an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Russian Studies at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1985 to 1999; Social Studies Instructor at the Alyeska Central School, Alaska Department of Education from 1988 to 2006; and has been the Director of the Alaska-Siberia Research Center (see www.aksrc.homestead.com) from 1990 to present. He has conducted about 30 field studies in various areas of the former Soviet Union (including Siberia), Central Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and the United States (including Alaska). Dolitsky has been a lecturer on the World Discoverer, Spirit of Oceanus, and Clipper Odyssey vessels in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. He was the Project Manager for the WWII Alaska-Siberia Lend Lease Memorial, which was erected in Fairbanks in 2006. He has published extensively in the fields of anthropology, history, archaeology, and ethnography. His more recent publications include Fairy Tales and Myths of the Bering Strait Chukchi, Ancient Tales of Kamchatka; Tales and Legends of the Yupik Eskimos of Siberia; Old Russia in Modern America: Russian Old Believers in Alaska; Allies in Wartime: The Alaska-Siberia Airway During WWII; Spirit of the Siberian Tiger: Folktales of the Russian Far East; Living Wisdom of the Far North: Tales and Legends from Chukotka and Alaska; Pipeline to Russia; The Alaska-Siberia Air Route in WWII; and Old Russia in Modern America: Living Traditions of the Russian Old Believers; Ancient Tales of Chukotka, and Ancient Tales of Kamchatka.
President Joe Biden pardoned a turkey last week. Former Gov. Sarah Palin pardoned a turkey, in a video that went worldwide, as another turkey was being slaughtered behind her.
But on Tuesday, the day before Thanksgiving, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced he has granted clemency to five Alaskans who, through efforts consistent with changing their life, have warranted consideration for clemency.
Each case was carefully reviewed and reflects the principles of redemption, accountability, and fairness embedded in Alaska’s clemency laws and processes, the governor said.
“Clemency is a tool that recognizes when people have paid their debt to society, have taken responsibility and rebuilt their lives,” said Dunleavy. “These five individuals, through their actions, have warranted a second chance that clemency can provide and it’s inspiring to acknowledge their efforts.”
Clemency was granted to William V. May for Driving While Intoxicated in 1999; Richard A. Vicknair for the sale of a depressant, hallucinogenic, or stimulant drug in 1970; Daniel J. Smith for misconduct involving a controlled substance in 2010; Daniel W. Woods for persons under 21 on alcohol premises in 2002; and Kit A. Stavrum for the sale of a depressant, hallucinogenic or stimulant drug in 1982.
In Alaska, clemency is a constitutionally granted power of the governor, used to forgive or reduce penalties for crimes when individuals have shown remorse and made significant changes in their lives. Each request undergoes a rigorous review to ensure it serves justice, public safety, and fairness, he said.
“Every person has the capacity for change, and these individuals have shown that they are more than their past mistakes,” said Dunleavy.“Through their hard work and commitment to bettering themselves, they’ve earned this recognition and the opportunity to move forward without the weight of old convictions.”
Gov. Bill Egan granted clemency 99 times during his term as Alaska’s first governor after statehood, over half of those granted in all of state history. Most other governors since Gov. Frank Murkowski have taken a pass. Dunleavy has granted just one, while denying more than 200 requests during his six years in office.
It’s unclear what type of clemency each man received. Clemency can mean a pardon, commutation, or reprieve. A pardon would remove the guilt and the punishment of the offender, making them innocent again in the eyes of the law. Other clemency could reduce a sentence.
The American firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, which since 1852 has been a leading manufacturer of pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shooting accessories, joined Facebook 15 years ago. It’s now been kicked off of Facebook for breaking the rules by posting stories about … wait for it … weapons.
“Despite our extensive efforts and resources spent on trying to adhere to Facebook’s ever-changing community guidelines on firearms, our account was suspended indefinitely on Friday, November 22nd, 15 years after its original creation. In an era where free speech and the right to bear arms are under constant attack, we want to thank @elonmusk and @X for supporting free speech and our constitutional rights guaranteed by the 1st and 2nd Amendments. While we work to reinstate our account, we encourage our 1.6 million Facebook followers and fans to seek out platforms that represent these shared values,” the company wrote on X, where its account has 500,00 followers.
Daisy BB gun wrote a sympathetic response, saying it’s having the same problem with Facebook.
“We at Daisy (yes, the Red Ryder BB gun company) totally understand and echo your thanks to @elonmusk for providing us a platform that still supports freedom of speech. We, too, are on our last legs at the meta platforms. Sad,” the company said.
Because of Facebook’s uneven rules, this story will not be included on the Must Read Alaska Facebook page but will be found on X.
The Alaska minimum wage will automatically increase from $11.73 to $11.91 on Jan. 1. That is the result of a decade-old ballot initiative that voters passed, tying the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index for urban consumers in the Anchorage metropolitan area, as calculated for the prior year.
Due to this year’s Ballot Measure 1 passing, the minimum wage will go up again on July 1. It will be increased to $13, and a year later will be increased to $14. The final hike will be in 2027, when it will be $15 an hour and adjusted for inflation after that.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3% of employed teenagers are paid minimum wage. Overall, there about 10,000 workers who are working at minimum wage in Alaska. But it will likely have the effect of driving up the costs of entry level jobs, which will then be eliminated and replaced by touchscreens and artificial intelligence, where usable.
Another result of the law will be the punch in the gut of small business owners: Businesses with fewer than 15 employees will be required to provide 40 hours of paid sick leave. Companies with more than 15 employees will have to provide 56 hours of paid sick leave.
That means a growing micro-sized mom-and-pop business will have to bake in an additional five days of pay for every employee, which will make it more difficult to compete with large business. Agriculture, fishing, and mining workers are exempt from Alaska’s minimum wage schedule. See who else is exempt from the Alaska minimum wage law at this Department of Labor link.
The Anchorage School District knows that it has too many schools for too few students. And the future is bleak for increased numbers of students showing up through 2028.
ASD is not alone with the problem of too few students for too many school buildings. Some school districts take a courageous stand, rightsizing the school system to fit the population while still maintaining room for growth.
The Denver Public School system, for example, is proposing to close 10 of its schools. And the Jefferson County School District in the Denver area has closed 10 schools with another four scheduled for next year due to lower enrollment.
The Anchorage School District has too many elementary schools for far fewer students. It currently has a “program” capacity of 26,432 students in its elementary schools. But there were only 19,484 elementary students in the 2022-23 school year. And fewer this year.
That’s alarming enough. But the future looks even worse. The district projects it will only have 16,826 elementary students in 2027, almost 10,000 fewer students than the district’s school capacity.
People are just not procreating like they used to.
Realizing the excess capacity of elementary schools and the need to reduce costs, the district has developed a comprehensive strategy to close excess elementary schools. This strategy includes the following decision matrix:
All the above rubric components give a grade from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) for elementary schools.
The components are pretty self-explanatory, but the “Staffing Effectiveness” does not really include the effectiveness of the staff. It only shows the impact of the special education staff and other staff such as those that must travel from school to school, such as music teachers.
What it doesn’t show is the effectiveness of the classroom teacher.
That would be a much better measure of “Staffing Effectiveness”.
Here are the AKSTAR standardized test scores of the 8schools that the district has selected for closure:
School
English Language Arts
Math
Baxter
23
20
Bear Valley
67
71
Fire Lake
31
45
Lake Hood
16
12
Nunaka Valley
33
36
Tudor
32
24
Wonder Park
24
21
Anchorage Total (3-9)
36
37
Why would Bear Valley be selected for closure if its students have better outcomes than all the other elementary schools? Does it make sense to break up a successful team of students and teachers, regardless of the building condition?
The school building seems to matter little when it comes to student achievement.
Here’s Eagle Academy Charter School in Eagle River which is housed in a former automobile showroom:
Eagle Academy
And guess what? Eagle Academy Charter School is the top performing school in the district! Seventy-seven percent of its students are proficient in reading and 80% of its students are proficient in math.
Here’s another outstanding charter school: Aquarian Charter School:
Aquarian Charter School is housed in a former school building that the district discarded many years ago. But the parents and kids don’t care. They want to learn and they have very effective classroom teachers. It shows in the scores: 69% are proficient in reading and 69% are proficient in math.
So, it’s not the school building. It’s effective classroom teachers, plus motivated students, plus an outstanding curriculum.
Board member Pat Higgins voiced that he was focused on academic outcomes that were not stressed enough in the rubrics. Chris Opitz, academic officer, noted that when Abbott Loop school was closed that both math and reading scores increased marginally. And the attendance rate increased as well.
The district proposes to repurpose some of the excess schools to house charter schools, thus saving rent costs. It also proposes to repurpose some schools to house PreK and special programs.
So, it sounds like the schools may be closed; students moved to other neighborhood schools; the buildings repurposed; and no loss of jobs. Wow. That’ll close the budget gap?
That will be for the next chapter in the ASD school closure battle. How much will the district really save?
The Anchorage School District’s problem in a nutshell:
The total “program capacity” for elementary schools today would hold 26,432 students.
The actual number of students in 2022 was 19,484, a nearly 7,000 student excess capacity.
There is even a further downward trend in the future until the projected number of elementary students is 16,826 in 2027, nearly 10,000 students fewer than the district’s capacity.
A school building is just that and nothing more. What happens in the classroom is what is most important. An effective classroom teacher and an effective curriculum are the keys to student success.
David Boyle is an education writer for Must Read Alaska.
